Impractical Magic

Rating:
Summary: Fox's best yet!
Review: Brandon "Brand" Goodfellow, Magician Extraordinaire, is at the pinnacle of his career! He is the heartthrob of many teens and young women. He should be overjoyed! But no matter how great an illusionist he is or how famous he is, he does not have the one thing he has craved all his life, REAL MAGIC. His father, Robin, Had been a faery. Robin gave up his immortality and magic to become human so he could marry his mortal love. It was something Brand could not understand. If his father had not given it all up, Brand would have been one of the Fae, with true magic!

Rose Thayer had grown up with Brand. Brand, Rose, and Sequoia (her cousin and best friend) were often told that Rose was a faery. But none believed it until her magic began happening. Envious, Brand distanced himself from Rose. Now Rose has entered Brand's life again. She is now a reporter who does exposés on Illusionists. If she is able to expose Brandon's illusion secrets, she will get the promotion she has been dreaming of. Brand will allow her to follow his crew and do her best under one condition; she cannot use her magic AT ALL until the article is finished. If Rose used her magic, even to get a cup of coffee, she must leave and never write the exposé. Of course Rose agrees, but she is about to learn how much she relied on her powers. And as she tags along with Brand and Sequoia, she finds that she may have a few bumps along the way.

***** Karen Fox pleases her fans as she again brings together the realms of the magical world and the human world. Personally, I believe this to be the author's best story yet. The children of the book "Buttercup Baby" get their own tale told.

I cannot express how wonderful this novel is! If you have not read a book by Karen Fox, pick up a copy of "Impractical Magic" and find out what you have been missing!

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful light romp of magic
Review: Brandon Goodfellow looks to be the new "David Copperfield" of the magic world. His tricks mystify with their success, and he owes it all to being a half blooded Fae. All that could come crashing down if an enterprising reporter who has known him all his life and knows his secret tells all in an expose. Said reporter also happens to be a full blooded Fae Princess named Rose Thayer who prefers living among mortals. She has the true magic Brandon craves, but does not want to use it. Like in the old Bewitched shows where Sam would get sick from not using her power, Rose's denial is having consequences. She is leaking magic, and affecting the mortal world in violation of Fae rules. The romance Brandon wants to rekindle with her might be doomed if she is forced to return to the other world to protect the secret of the Fae's existence and not cause chaos in the "real world".

...In a light romp, Karen Fox again charms readers. There are some parallels that could appeal to fans of the "Merry Gentry " books, but it is not quite as intense. Her afterword makes it clear that the seeds she plants for future sequels will be cultivated, to the delight of her fans.

Rating:
Summary: Not quite as magical!
Review: I'm a big fan of Karen Fox and her creativity simply amazes me. Unfurtunately this book was not up to my standards of her.
This story is about Brandon Goodfellow, who made his 1st appeareance in Buttercup Baby, and Rose Thayer, who also made her 1st appeareance in Buttercup baby.
Rose is the daughter of Ex-queen of the pillywigins (faeries) and Brandon is the son of the son of a Greek God.
Brandon has always been in love with magic and has always wanted to have magic, therefore he becomes the best illusionist there is.
Rose inherits all the magic from her mom and is also a Fae. However she is raised as a mortal and considers herlself so.
Rose and Brandon have known each other since birth and were the best of friends, until at age 13, she devolops her powers. Brandon was told the truth about Rose and that very same day, when he wanted to announce his parents he was going to marry Rose when they grew up, he decided to evade her once his parents told him the truth about Rose.
Now 17 years later Brandon is about to perform his biggest illusion and Rose is about to do her last expose... on Brandon.
They made a deal and she stays with him during the tour in order to gain knowledge on how he does his illussions.
The tension rises, and some ugly truths are told eventually, but the love that was there once, is not gone after 17 years, thus they must face their differences, their jelousy and resentments if they want to have a life together.
The book was entertaining, but quite a dissapointment. There are plenty of inconsistencies. If you have read Buttercup baby you'll notice plenty of them, if your havent, dont sweat it. However Buttercup Baby was by far much better than this one.
In short the book was OK but never her best or even close to it!
I have read some of her previous work and Buttercup Baby and Cupid's Melody are my favorite, especially Cupid's Melody. This book is not even near the same neighborhood those other 2 books were.
There's also another story about Rose's cousin Sequoia and another Fae, Ewan. Apparently Mrs.Fox plans on doing another book on their story, but in all honesty I dont see the story coming together, because it is pretty much solved in this book. So, unless she can pull another story like Cupid's Melody (Anna and Nick,(The protagonists of Cupid's Melody),appear in Prince of Charming already married), then I dont think the book will be as good.
Overall the book was sweet, and the story line is definitely creative, but definitely not her best and not as creative.
For this book Mrs. Fox Magic apparently was low!

Rating:
Summary: fun fantasy romance
Review: Stage magician Brandon Goodfellow is considered the best illusionist in the world. Now journalist Rose Thayer, who he has not seen in a decade, visits him to warn him that she will expose his "special illusion" in her next article for Uncovered Magazine. Brandon cared deeply for Rose when they were children until she inherited the real magic of her fairy mother at puberty while he gained nothing from his Fae father.

Brandon challenges Rose to expose his secrets without using her magic. Unable to resist the dare, she accepts though she wonders why she still cares for a person who let her down when she needed him when she first displayed her magical abilities. However, Rose leaks magic by not using it, which leads to wishes granted to humans and the attention of Queen Titania of the Fae, whom demands she come to her realm. As Brandon and Rose fall in love, he must overcome his envy of her talent if they are to make it together.

Though Brandon's whining over his lack of magic seems inappropriate as he lashes out at his beloved and is estranged from his father, this "magical love" tale will charm fans. The story line is fun especially with the shock Rose goes through when she lives without her talent (sort of like having no electricity for a few days). Fantasy romance readers will enjoy this novel and look forward to a future story starring Rose's cousin and the male Fae assigned by Titania to bring Rose to the fairy realm.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: fun fantasy romance
Review: Stage magician Brandon Goodfellow is considered the best illusionist in the world. Now journalist Rose Thayer, who he has not seen in a decade, visits him to warn him that she will expose his "special illusion" in her next article for Uncovered Magazine. Brandon cared deeply for Rose when they were children until she inherited the real magic of her fairy mother at puberty while he gained nothing from his Fae father.

Brandon challenges Rose to expose his secrets without using her magic. Unable to resist the dare, she accepts though she wonders why she still cares for a person who let her down when she needed him when she first displayed her magical abilities. However, Rose leaks magic by not using it, which leads to wishes granted to humans and the attention of Queen Titania of the Fae, whom demands she come to her realm. As Brandon and Rose fall in love, he must overcome his envy of her talent if they are to make it together.

Though Brandon's whining over his lack of magic seems inappropriate as he lashes out at his beloved and is estranged from his father, this "magical love" tale will charm fans. The story line is fun especially with the shock Rose goes through when she lives without her talent (sort of like having no electricity for a few days). Fantasy romance readers will enjoy this novel and look forward to a future story starring Rose's cousin and the male Fae assigned by Titania to bring Rose to the fairy realm.

Harriet Klausner